We no habla.

I am all for people being bilingual -- it makes for a very well-rounded individual. But this is America, and our language is English -- not Spanish!

Have you seen the McDonald's commercial that is completely in Spanish? I saw it the other day, and it was brought to my attention again yesterday when I was requested to do a post on it. This commercial was not on the Spanish language channel -- it was on a regular network channel. How long will we cater to those who come here (a great many of them illegally) to partake of our benefits but who refuse to learn our language?

And you know, it's all our fault we don't speak Spanish -- I know some people who own a store. They do not speak Spanish. People come in to shop and have their children translate. The other day, a Mexican couple came in and wanted to buy on credit. The owner explained to the child that they could not sign a contract, because the contracts are in English. The owner would have had no way of knowing whether or not the people understood the contract, as most 10-year-old children are not too familiar with legal terms -- especially translating them from English to Spanish. The people were quite perturbed that they were being refused. I'm pretty sure there will come a time when these people will be forced to extend credit to non-English speakers. It's only a matter of time before one of them sues. Then, when the store owner has to extend the credit, they'll just default and say, "We didn't understand the contract."

We can't win! We better start demanding English only in all business transactions. You may think it won't affect you, but when all the Spanish speakers start defaulting on credit, you'll make up the difference in higher prices.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bv3xdAABFfQ

What a man!

Gary Staton of Omaha, Nebraska, abandoned nine of his ten children at Creighton University Medical Center last Wednesday. The tenth child is a legal adult. The abandoned children range in age from one to 17.

Mrs. Staton died last year shortly after giving birth to the youngest child. Staton quit his job because of "family responsibilities," then complained because he couldn't pay his rent or utilities or take care of the kids. He says without his wife, he was overwhelmed and "fell apart." "I was with her for 17 years, and then she was gone. What was I going to do?" Ya think! Why does he think his wife is dead???

This selfish (I don't use the kind of words I want to call him) kills his wife by wantonly impregnating her at least ten times. Then he quits his job. Then he wants people to feel sorry for him when he becomes completely derelict in his duty by anonymously leaving his kids at a hospital. What kind of scars do you think those kids will carry for the rest of their lives?

There are relatives willing to take the kids -- don't you think it would have been less traumatic for them if he had said, "I want you to go live with Aunt Betsy for awhile until Daddy finds a job and we can get back on our feet"?

The first thing they need to do with this bum is perform a vasectomy, because I guarantee you, unless they do, he will father more children that he will foist off either on the relatives or the taxpayers.

"Widower who left 9 kids says he was overwhelmed." The Dallas Morning News; September 27, 2008; p. 6A.

They just keep pushing it!

Essie May wonders if heterosexuals ever have beautiful gardens or restore and remodel old houses. It just seems that every "couple" featured in the home and garden section of The Dallas Morning News is gay. This week's edition featured Mark Isaksen and Daniel Walth of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Guess they've already featured all the gays in Dallas). The article is about how they landscaped around a cliff on their property. Mr. Walth makes this statement which I'm sure he intends to be rich in meaning (he probably thinks he will go down in gay philosophy history for it): "Let the cliff reveal itself. you shouldn't struggle with or deny it." Awwwww -- doesn't that just make you want to go hug a queer?

Then, I got an email newsletter from About.com. This weekly letter either confirms or debunks current email forwards. If you get the one about California trying to institute Harvey Milk Day in the public schools, it's true. Harvey Milk was the San Francisco city official killed in the 1970's. The instruction is for the public schools to set aside May 22 as Harvey Milk Day to appropriately celebrate this man known for nothing more than being queer and getting shot. The bill has passed the legislature and awaits Governor Schwarzenegger's signature.

We're going to hell in a handbasket (but it's very sweetly decorated with lots of ribbons and lace -- they do have tons of artistic ability, you know)!

"A gardener's challenge: the cliffs out back." The Dallas Morning News; September 26, 2008; p. 3G.
http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/government/a/harvey_milk_day.htm?nl=1

Get outta' town!

The audacity of the Democrats never ceases to amaze me. They remind me of the commercial for television blocking devices -- the one where the mother is talking to the mobsters and breaking the news to them that she will have to block their show. She says something like -- "And last week when you hit Vito in the head with the shovel . . ." The gangster replies, "I do not recall that."

Of course, this week, the big news is the bailout plan. The first link at the bottom of this page is to a video of Senator Harry Reid telling Senator McCain he needs to tell them what to do. Then yesterday, we get this quote from Harry Reid: "We have Senator Bennett, who is a high-ranking Republican senator, standing before all of you saying we've got a deal in principle. All we have to do is put it down in writing and this -- this is almost over with. And then, guess who came to town? And that completely fell apart. The vehicle came off the tracks. Now, the Republican House has to decide what they want to do. Are they serious about one of the issues that has to be taken care of, is lowering the capital gains tax? Is that part of what this is all about? They're going to have to become realistic."

In the first place, Senator McCain was not the only one "who came to town." Barack Obama was at that table, too, and you notice that Senator Reid was not able to come out and say, "Obama has come up with a plan -- we are saved." No mention of Senator Obama at all from a leading Democrat, so that kind of tells you how valuable he was there.

In the second place, there was no deal -- even Senator Bennett said he wasn't ready to sign on to it yet -- a little thing Senator Reid forgot to mention.

In the third place, we should all be grovelling at Senator McCain's feet for taking the "vehicle off the tracks." Senator Lindsey Graham reported that included in this plan was that 20% of the recovery funds would go to ACORN (up to $100 million dollars just for them) and organizations like it. ACORN is the far left-wing activist group that Obama did his "community organizing" with. They are under investigation for voter fraud, embezzlement, misuse of federal funds, and assorted other crimes. They do things like disrupt city council meetings and political dinners, picket in front of mayors' homes and spit on them and throw garbage at them, register dead people to vote -- a real class act.

In the fourth place, they don't need the House Republicans to pass this bailout. They have enough votes to do it without them. Why would they not go ahead and do it on their own? Because when it blows up in their faces they want to be able to say, "Well it was all those Republicans voting for it."

In the fifth place, a cut in capital gains taxes will grow the economy. I see something just a little hypocritical in saying, "We're going to spend $750 billion to bail out these companies that have poor business practices, but for you guys who have been conducting your affairs properly, you're not even going to get a tax break. In fact, we'll probably have to raise your taxes to take care of these guys getting multi-million dollar compensation packages."

Then Chuck Schumer comes out and says that McCain should leave town: "We need the president to respectfully tell Senator McCain to get outta town. He is not helping. He is harming. Before McCain made his announcement, we were making great progress. Now, after his announcement, we are behind the eight ball. Get the House Republicans to be more constructive, get Senator McCain to leave town and not throw fire on these flames." Excuse me, but I believe Senator McCain is called "Senator" because that's what he is. He has every right to weigh in on this issue for his constituents. In fact, if he doesn't, he is derelict in his duty. I don't know of another instance where a Senator has had the audacity to tell another he shouldn't be participating in deliberations. Not to mention his metaphor is goofy -- "throw fire on these flames"?

So Essie May concludes -- if anybody needs to get out of town, it's certainly NOT John McCain!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7mRSI8yWwg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3f0BwyZKMw
http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_092608/content/01125109.guest.html
http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_092608/content/01125108.guest.html

Sarah Palin would have made front page!

Buried way back on page 17A of yesterday's Dallas Morning News is a tiny one paragraph piece titled "Biden misspoke on Roosevelt, TV history."

Joe Biden said on the CBS Evening News that President Franklin Roosevelt went on TV in 1929 when the stock market crashed. In the first place, Herbert Hoover was the President in 1929. In the second place, we all know that every living room had a television in 1929 -- Not!

Let's suppose that instead of Joe Biden displaying this appalling ignorance of history, it had been Sarah Palin. The headline would have been front-page. She wouldn't have "misspoke." She would have exhibited a "lack of fundamental knowledge of history." Multiple paragraphs would have been required to report the reactions from every political pundit and foe.

And the jokes would have never stopped -- poor Dan Quayle is still known as the "potato guy." But there is no bias in the media!

We're not ready to hang pictures.

Some DISD parents and teachers are concerned, and parents and teachers from other districts should be concerned -- they just don't know it. Many districts have supplied their art teachers for Grades 6-12 with the PBS documentary entitled Art:21 - Art in the Twenty-First Century. The documentary features short biographies of modern artists and describes their techniques.

What's the concern? Documentary images considered "too disturbing or sexual for the classroom" may not be considered as such by the art teachers. The fear is that students will "take it upon themselves to search the internet for more information about some artists in the documentary and get an eyeful."

One of the artists, Kara Walker, has a current exhibit in Ft. Worth. The museum showing her work has this disclaimer: "Please be advised that the Kara Walker exhibition contains mature subject matter including explicit sexual images. Viewers should use their own discretion."

Why are we promoting pornographic artists in our schools? "For sixth-graders, a portion of the lesson focuses on students using artwork to think critically about 'crucial and painful issues of past and present societies.'" Whatever happened to painting still lifes and landscapes? Whatever happened to sculpting statues? Whatever happened to mosaics and collages? This is just another example of the liberal indoctrination of our young people.

One of the concerned teachers, Diane Birdwell, said, "My main concern was that for our kids, we need to introduce them to basic art first. Most of them have never been to a museum, do not understand the different media of art, and have no clue about the politics of art. You can't hang pictures until you put the walls up, folks." Essie May couldn't have said it better!

"Art tool is an eyeful." The Dallas Morning News; September 22, 2008; p. 1B.

Who knew?

Did you know motivational speaking was an illness? I offer you this sentence written by Krista Goerte and printed in yesterday's The Paris News: "She grew up in Detroit singing and performing poetry in a church community, moved on to beauty pageants and theatre, and has now found the perfect career in the face of a debilitating illness: motivational speaking."

We learn later in Krista's article that Lashunda Rundles was named the 2008 World Champion of Public Speaking after "competiting" with 30,000 other speakers. She has done all this while battling "Lupis."

And how about this for professional composition: "When time came for her first speech, to be given at the Dallas Toastmaster's club, on the road to her Toastmaster title, Rundles said she was sick, and gave her first speech in house shoes with the support of the whole club behind her."

In the same issue of the newspaper, Mary Madewell tells us the "Cesna" L-19 Bird Dog airplanes were used for "recognizance" missions in Korea and Vietnam.

Who knew?


"Detroit native outspeaks 30,000 for international title." The Paris News; September 22, 2008; p. 1.
"Flair for flying." The Paris News; September 22, 2008; p. 1.

They did it backwards!

There is an article in yesterday's Dallas Morning News about Jonathan Danyell Brown. He was sentenced in July to ten years in prison for dealing cocaine. This past week, his sentence was reduced to probation, because he said his two white co-defendants received probation, and the only reason he did not was because he was black.

I don't know all the details, but I'll agree with them that the sentence was inequitable. However, they got the solution backwards. Instead of giving Brown probation, they should have stuck the other two in prison for ten years alongside him.

It really doesn't matter much, because I have no doubt all parties will violate probation within the year and will end up in Huntsville. The only part that does matter is the people they will hurt or kill before their probation is revoked.

"Inequality found in man's sentence." The Dallas Morning News; September 21, 2008; p. 1B.

DISD is saved!

I posted a couple of days ago on the DISD crisis -- an unexpected $64 million budget shortfall. Now, district administration is saying it may be as much as $80 million.

But not to worry -- Superintendent Michael Hinojosa has come up with a solution. He is going to take a 5% cut (about $19,000) on his $379,000 salary! DISD is saved! Now all they have to do is come up with $63,981,o00 more. Piece of cake!

I guess Mr. Hinojosa thought this would be a grand gesture, but it did nothing more than make him look foolish. A grand gesture would have been, "I want to personally contribute something to solving this crisis, so I will relinquish enough of my salary so that two teachers can stay." He'd still be making more than $200,000, and he would have done something meaningful -- at least to the two whose jobs he saved. If he's not willing to go that far, he should have kept his measly $19,000 and kept his mouth shut!

What drugs? What gun? What stolen car?

Derrick Watson was shot and killed by Garland, Texas, police Wednesday. Less than one year ago, his brother was shot and killed by police only a block or so away from where Derrick met his demise.

Derrick was with some known hoodlums (one of whom was his 16-year-old brother) at a service station that was under police surveillance. When police saw what they thought was a drug deal occurring, they sent in an undercover officer to try to make a purchase. The undercover officer went into the service station store. When he came out, another vehicle full of hoodlums had arrived -- a stolen vehicle. Four of the hoodlums came toward the undercover officer accusing him of being a police officer, cursing him, and making menacing movements toward him. The officer drew his gun and identified himself. Derrick Watson reached for his chrome pistol -- the last time he'll ever try to draw a gun on anybody.

There was crack cocaine in both vehicles. An attorney representing Derrick's family, Ed Moore, said, "I don't have any information that they were doing anything illegal." What gun? What drugs? What stolen car?

"Brothers shot by police a year apart." The Dallas Morning News; September 19, 2008; p. 1B.

And where were you, Mr. Price?

The Dallas Independent School District is in big trouble. Somehow, there was an unexpected $64 million shortfall in the 2007-2008 budget, and reserve funds counted on for this year's budget must be used. Many district employees will lose their jobs. District officials say the shortfall is a result mainly of payroll miscalculations made when they hired 750 new teachers.

I'm no genius (well, actually, I am, but that's beside the point), but $64 million divided by 750 teachers averages $85,333 per teacher. Of course, you have to figure that as the entire package, not just the salary. Benefits generally add about one-third of the salary to the total figure, but even at that, you're figuring an average teacher pay of $64,160. I would think that would be the high end salary for a public school teacher. Logic dictates that many of those newly hired teachers are starting teachers and not making nearly that much. My point is that $64 million should have been more than adequate to fund all 750 teachers, so how do you underestimate $64 million by $64 million?

DISD School Board Member Ron Price said, "In my 11 years of service on the board, I've never seen anything like this. Our children and our teachers should not have to suffer for the mismanagement and the incompetence of our administration."

Wait a minute, Mr. Price! You've been on the Board 11 years, and you're not familiar enough with the budget to notice that you're spending $64 million more than you're taking in? Sounds like the mismanagement and incompetence isn't limited to the administration!

"Schools brace for job cuts." The Dallas Morning News; September 17, 2008; p. 1A.

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream.

The table of contents sidebar on page 1 of our "award-winning" Paris News yesterday featured a local teacher -- "Honored: Braums honors local teacher P-10." So I turned to page 10 to see the headline: "Braums honors local teacher."

Reading the article, I found out that Beth Dennis, a finalist for state teacher of the year will be honored by Blue Bell Creameries with an ice cream party for her school.

"A Blue Bell truck will pull up in front of Thomas Justiss Elementary School . . . and a Blue Bell treat will be given to every student and staff member. . . "

"Blue Bell will present Dennis with a cooler full of her favorite Blue Bell flavor . . ."

" . . .and a congratulatory letter from Paul Kruse, president of Blue Bell Creameries."

"At Blue Bell, we believe there is no finer work you can do in this world than be a teacher . . ."

I didn't see one mention of Braums in the entire article. Oh, well, Blue Bell -- Braums -- they both start with a B and sell ice cream. What's the difference?

Obama can't have it both ways.

The folks who oppose abstinence only sex education are pointing to Sarah Palin's pregnant teenager with glee as proof that such an approach doesn't work with teens. There was a pithy letter to the editor the other day that I thought was so insightful, I'm going to share it here. It was written by John Ramsey of Carrollton, Texas.

"If the pregnancy of Sarah Palin's daughter proves that abstinence-only education doesn't work, then the current condition of the South Side of Chicago proves that community organizing doesn't work, either."

Who wants to be a millionaire?

The City of San Diego had an unusual duty for four of its firefighters in 2007. They were required to drive one of the firetrucks in a parade. Most parades have a firetruck, so what was so unusual about this one? It was the gay pride parade.

The firefighters objected to the duty since firefighters in the previous gay pride parade had been subjected to catcalls and lewd remarks by the parade-goers. They were ordered to do it anyway. Now they are suing the city.

Essie May thinks our society is entirely too litigious; however, this lawsuit is unquestionably justified. Imagine if your boss required you to pose as eye-candy for a bunch of queers. I hope these guys are the nation's next millionaires!

"Firefighters sue city over gay-parade duty." The Dallas Morning News, September 15, 2008, p. 8A.

Like to see your name being dragged through the mud?

There is an internet forum site called Topix. You can find your city and there will be a discussion board where anyone may begin discussions and post under any name. Used properly, the site can be informational and fun. But that's the catch -- it's not used properly.

Since posters are protected via anonymity, they feel free to post anything that comes into their minds -- true or not, decent or not, anybody's business or not. Posters are deliberately carrying out personal vendettas against innocent people. The victims are being hurt with this site -- their reputations are suffering and their families are becoming, in some instances, physically ill. I have heard of one case where a marriage hit a very rocky point because of scurrilous allegations made on the site.

All the free-speechers yell about censorship, but there are laws regarding libel that definitely apply here. The old example holds that you can't yell, "FIRE!" in a crowded theater. I had a wise professor once who said that when our freedoms are abused, we will eventually lose them. And freedom of speech is being abused on Topix.

There is a ray of hope. One of the posters calling himself/herself "Forum Commando" has decided to monitor and try to shut down the libelous and defamatory threads. He/she has had a little luck so far, but it's not easy to get them to take the threads off. For one thing, their contact information is extremely difficult to follow. I've started hitting the "feedback" link at the bottom and going down to the heading about reporting a bad editor. Then I paste the URL of the page I'm on in the page box.

My hope is that people will begin to see how outrageous this is and will bombard Topix everytime they see an inappropriate post. There is strength in numbers, and if everyone who has been damaged by this website sued, we'd put Topix out of business, which is exactly where it needs to be!

It's, you know, that highway around Paris.

I wish The Paris News would learn that the loop around Paris is designated Loop 286. They rarely get the number right. Just this past week in a photo caption, they called it Loop 271. I have seen them call it Loop 82 in addition to three or four other erroneous numbers.

It's not a new highway -- it's been there for years, and it's been called the same thing ever since I can remember. And here's the kicker -- The Paris News office and plant is located on Loop 286! You'd think they'd know their own address.

I long for the good old days.

Yesterday, I wrote about the young girl I saw in Wal-Mart in a very suggestive t-shirt. I've also written about the North Lamar High School drama department staging "Urinetown," a musical including those old Broadway favorites, "It's a Privilege to Pee" and "Snuff the Girl."

I sat down last night to read the September issue of one of my favorite magazines -- Reminisce Extra. It features stories and photos of the "old days" sent in by readers. One photo on page 28 really caught my attention. It was the 1937 Kindergarten class from Martin, Tennessee. All the children are posed on the playground merry-go-round with their teachers sitting beside them.

You can almost smell the starch in the little dresses and the hair cream on the little boys! The lady who submitted the photo said, "Everyone was dressed in the same manner, and properness and politeness were just natural parts of our lives."

How sad that we can't say that today. The person who is proper and polite today is called prudish, unenlightened, unsophisticated, a rube, and out-of-it. I guess it's just a fulfillment of scripture -- the Bible says that in the last days, people will call evil good and good evil. You know, hard as it would be, I think I'd give up my modern appliances just to go back to a time when properness and politeness were just natural parts of our lives.

Is it just me?

I made my weekly trek to Wal-Mart yesterday. While shopping, I kept running into this lady and a young girl who looked to be maybe 12 or 13 years old. They looked and acted like a mother/daughter combo. They appeared to be average, middle-class people.

The girl was wearing a t-shirt that said, "If you don't like the way I'm dressed, you have my permission to undress me."

Is it just me, or do you wonder what kind of mother would allow her young daughter to wear something like that? I honestly thought I had misread it, so I took a good long look at it when I ran into them on another aisle, and sure enough, that's what it said. I wonder what that mother would think if she came home one afternoon, and the 17-year-old boy next door was undressing her daughter?

Is there no common sense left? Is there no decency left? Does anyone even know what those terms mean anymore?

What about Obama's "muslim faith"?

On September 7, Barack Obama was interviewed by George Stephanopoulos. One of the subjects concerned Obama's contention that the Republicans were throwing out lies about his religion. Stephanopoulos, quoting McCain spokesman Rick Davis, said that the Republicans denied questioning his Christian faith.

Obama gave a typically convoluted response, but finally did concede that McCain had never questioned his "muslim faith." Stephanopoulos corrected him to "Christian faith." See if you think the look on Obama's face indicates that he was thinking, "Crap, I said the wrong thing!"

I must admit, that he probably meant that McCain had not questioned whether or not he was a muslim; however, it was an awfully strange way to put it, and it does make me wonder. I have never slipped when anyone has asked me about religious affiliation and said, "I'm a muslim -- Oh, I mean Christian!" And if Stephanopoulos, who was sitting right there with him, felt the need to correct him, it really makes me wonder!

The link is included here. See what you think.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQqIpdBOg6I

Obama's Civilian National Security Force

I've included the link to a clip from an Obama speech given July 2. In it, he calls for a Civilian National Security Force. He says our military is inadequate to defend our country. He says this force will be just as strong and just as well-funded as the military.

I've done a little internet surfing on exactly what he's talking about, and I came across a website run by Joseph Farrah who is an editor, radio talk-show host, and internet news provider. Here are some of the things he said (my disclaimer: I have not checked any of these things out myself, and I am not too familiar with Farrah, but from what I picked up when I googled him, he is probably a reliable source).

"The 'Obama Youth' will get a monthly stipend of $1,800, plus paid health and child care, plus a $4,725 grant after their 'service' for future education or school loan payoffs."

Investors Business Daily gives further insight into Public Allies, the group Obama was a community organizer for and upon which his "universal voluntary program" will be based:

"Public Allies promotes 'diversity and inclusion,' a program paper says. More than 70% of its recruits are 'people of color.' When they're not protesting, they're staffing AIDS clinics, handing out condoms, bailing criminals out of jail and helping illegal aliens and the homeless obtain food stamps and other welfare. Not all the recruits appreciate the PC indoctrination. 'It was too touchy-feely,' said Nelly Nieblas, 29, of the 2005 Los Angeles class. 'It's a lot of talk about race, a lot of talk about sexism, a lot of talk about homophobia, talk about -isms and phobias.' One of those -isms is 'heterosexism,' which a Public Allies training seminar in Chicago describes as a negative byproduct of 'capitalism, white supremacy, patriarchy and male-dominated privilege.' The government now funds about half of Public Allies' expenses through Clinton's AmeriCorps. Obama wants to fully fund it and expand it into a national program that some see costing $500 billion. 'We've got to have a civilian national security force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded' as the military, he said. The gall of it: The Obamas want to create a boot camp for radicals who hate the military — and stick American taxpayers with the bill."

It sounds to me like indoctrination and brainwashing. Remember Hitler Youth? If we elect this man, we are in serious trouble!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXvLWB_NLKE
http://wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=74643
http://www.ibdeditorials.com/IBDArticles.aspx?id=305420655186700

Essie May is Hailin' Palin!

I love John McCain's pick for VP. Sarah Palin is a breath of fresh air. Obama only talks change -- Sarah Palin IS change.

If people are tired of the same old, same old in politics, they have to choose the McCain-Palin ticket. Mrs. Palin has the courage of her convictions -- two instances in her family where many would have chosen abortion, yet she chose to stand by what she preaches. She has common sense -- something in serious short supply in Washington. She respects the U.S. Constitution, and she is a strong voice for protecting our Bill of Rights. She is fiscally conservative, and I will be surprised if she puts her stamp of approval on Congress's ingrained tax and spend philosophy. She supports increasing domestic production of oil -- meaning for us, lower prices at the pump.

Her opponents deride her lack of experience, forgetting that she has executive experience, and Obama does not. I'm not afraid of her "lack of experience." Should she find herself in the Chief Executive's seat before McCain's term ends, she is smart enough to surround herself with trusted advisors who will be able to provide her the information she needs to make informed decisions to benefit America and keep it safe.

Should McCain finish out his term or terms, Essie May predicts Sarah Palin will be the first woman elected to the office of President of the United States of America. Go, Sarah!

Can you say, "EWWWWWW!"

Today's Dallas Morning News society page included two announcements accompanied by the sweetest photos of the lovely couples:

Announcement #1: "Jeffrey Gorczynski and Troy Ronald Cox of Oak Cliff were married on August 12, 2008 in Proivincetown (sic), Massachusetts."

Announcement #2: "Jacob Whitt and Travis White celebrated their Commitment on August 30th, 2008 in Austin, TX. Jacob is the son of Tim and Wendy Whitt of West Columbia, TX. Travis is the son of Dallas and Carol White of Grand Prairie, TX."

Awwwwwww, isn't that precious? Actually, that's not the word that comes to mind. The words that come to my mind are nauseating, sick, perverted, disgusting, degenerate, offensive, disgraceful, obnoxious, immoral, abhorrent, repulsive, nasty -- in other words, "EWWWWWWWW!"

What is wrong with people?

I blogged back some time ago about a person in our community who had been involved in a scandal and was bemoaning on the very public "Twitter" website the fact that people continued to make her the topic of conversation. Essie May's advice to her was to quit promoting herself on the internet and keep a low profile. She did take her blog off at that time, but she started another one, and she continued to keep the internet world informed of just how unforgiving people are and what a great life she has. For some reason, I found her posts fascinating -- it was amazing what went on in her mind. She has now quit her second blog, but she continues to "Twitter."

Today's "Twitter" is an example of why I find this middle school teacher's posts so captivating -- "So are you officially cool if a middle school student tells you that your outfit is 'tight' or does that mean it is too small?"

If I had been involved in a high profile affair with another woman's husband, I'd think twice before posting something like that. I'm not familiar with much of the current slang, and I'm sure "tight" does mean cool, neato, or something synonymous; however, given her circumstances, one has to wonder if she really was wearing something so inappropriate that it sparked a comment from one of her students. I don't think I'd be bragging about it to all of cyberspace.

Why didn't they ask Miss Cleo?

Do you remember Miss Cleo -- the television psychic? I think the officials involved with the evacuations related to Hurricane Gustav should have consulted her.

The front-page headline in Wednesday's Dallas Morning News blared, Officials overreacted, some evacuees say. "As the first of the 2 million people who fled Gustav began to trickle home Tuesday from shelters, many grumbled about the food, the heat, the overcrowding, the uncertainty and the frustrating wait for the all-clear. Some evacuees, particularly in Texas, on the far fringes of the storm's path, suggested authorities overreacted in demanding that they leave their homes." How ungrateful can people be?

I can see the headline if the authorities had not ordered evacuations, and hundreds were killed -- Democrats call for investigation of Bush's handling of Gustav. Let us remember that despite the most technologically advanced weather detection systems, a hurricane is still an act of nature. Its path cannot be pinpointed with certainty and whether or not it will increase or decrease in strength cannot be determined with certainty. The best the authorities can do is say, "We think this may happen, and for your safety you should . . . ."

And let us also remember that at least eight people died in this storm. I would say that validates the decision to evacuate. In fact, Michael Chertoff, Homeland Security Secretary said, "The reasons you're not seeing dramatic stories of rescue is because we had a successful evacuation."

The next time, guys, just call Miss Cleo!

"Officials overreacted, some evacuees say." The Dallas Morning News; September 3, 2008; p. 1A.

We endorse . . .

In Tuesday's Dallas Morning News, the editorial board endorsed Judge John Creuzot for Criminal District Court No. 3, a position he currently holds. They cite Judge Creuzot for his innovative style, particularly his emphasis on DIVERT. DIVERT focuses on supervision, counseling and treatment instead of jail for non-violent drug offenders. They say he is appropriately tough on criminals and holds them responsible for their actions.

In Wednesday's Dallas Morning News, Tiara M. Ellis writes an article that makes me wonder if the editorial board has mistaken Judge Creuzot for someone else. Uriel Perez Palacios killed two people early Monday morning at Highway 75 and Mockingbird Lane. He was fleeing the police. He hit two SUV's so hard that the vehicles were not identifiable. A young couple married only since last July died. Several college students were injured.

Palacios has two convictions for drunk driving. Judge Creuzot, instead of jailing him, ordered a breathalyzer device installed in his 2002 Dodge Ram truck. Palacios was driving a Chevy Tahoe when the accident occurred, so we see this method of controlling drunk drivers is easy for them to get around. In fact, Palacios has gotten around it at least three times since January 14. In April Judge Creuzot ordered Mr. Palacios' bail raised from $3,500 to $100,555, and Palacios was rearrested. Then Creuzot changed his mind -- two weeks later he reinstated the $3,500 amount and ordered the breathalyzer lock -- something he already knew was of no use with this drunk. (By the way, Judge Creuzot changes his mind a lot -- he was a Democrat, then he was a Republican, now he's a Democrat again). In June, Palacios was arrested in Garland for DWI and driving without a license. Some kind of computer database confusion caused them to miss at least one of his previous DWI convictions, so he was released. Palacios did not show up for court dates, so the Judge raised his bail to $500,555 and issued a warrant for his arrest -- one that had still not been served when he killed two people.

To boil down Palacios' record -- 1) Feb. 2004 - sentenced to 135 days in jail for 2 counts of DWI. 2) Aug. 2005 - sentenced to 180 days in jail for violating probation on 2 prior evading arrest cases. 3) Nov. 2007 - arrested for drug possession and DWI. 4) Apr. 9, 2008 - Judge Creuzot orders him arrested for repeated failure of breathalyzer tests. 5) Apr. 23 - Judge Creuzot reinstates the lower bail amount. 6) Jun. 29 - arrested in Garland for DWI. And that's just the crimes and probation violations we know about -- no one knows how many times he didn't get caught.

It doesn't sound to me like Judge Creuzot is "appropriately tough on criminals." It doesn't sound to me like his "supervision, counseling, and treatment" work very well. It doesn't sound to me like Judge Creuzot "holds criminals responsible for their actions." Judge Creuzot will not comment on this case. I don't blame him. He's the reason two innocent people are dead. Maybe the newspaper should rethink its endorsement.

"Driver violated judge's order." The Dallas Morning News; September 3, 2008; p. 1A.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/editorials/stories/DN-crimdist3_02edi.ART.State.Edition1.4d598aa.html

There is a difference!

A short post today, but evidently one that's needed -- most liberals seem to be pretty dim when it comes to this issue.

A letter to the editor by Jack Sommbersby of Denton, Texas, appeared in The Dallas Morning News, August 28. He accuses John McCain of being a hypocrite because McCain is "supposedly pro-life, yet supporting the death penalty, which is quintessentially contradictory."

Let us explain to those who are IQ impaired.

1) Abortion takes the life of an innocent babe.
2) A criminal forfeits his life when he chooses to commit murder.
3) Not all killing is murder.
4) God ordains killing murderers.
5) God does not ordain killing babies.
6) God does not contradict Himself.

Let us also explain to the IQ impaired that they are the ones who quintessentially contradict themselves.

Their logic says:

1) Killing babies is OK.
2) Killing children is not OK -- yet don't children impact the mother's life as much as being pregnant does?
3) Killing teenagers is not OK -- yet anyone who's had teenagers will probably tell you pregnancy was a walk in the park compared to raising teenagers.
4) Killing adults is not OK -- yet who among us has not had another person impact our lives so negatively that we would have been much better off to have never known him?
5) Killing murderers is not OK -- unless it happens to be your son or daughter they murdered.
6) But killing babies is OK -- because a woman has the right to choose.

I say that if a woman truly has the right to choose, she has the right to kill anything that gets in her way! And that is not contradictory!

John Q. Christian, COME ON DOWN!

Carol Umsted went to church this summer at Congregational United Church of Christ of Valley City, ND. She won the weekly raffle of $50 worth of free gas. To boost attendance, several churches nationwide are making offers of gas card raffles and 99 cent gas sales at local stations to boost attendance.

I don't think this is quite what the writer of Hebrews had in mind when he admonished us to "forsake not the assembling of yourselves together, and so much the more as ye see that day approaching." Church has already become an entertainment venue with loud music, uproarious applause, standing ovations, and I have even heard an occasional whistle in our services. Michael Cromartie, vice president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, a Washington think tank, said that there is a fine line between advertising a church and using huckster means to entice people.

What's next? I can see it now -- the pastor stands at the pulpit, draws a card from a fishbowl, and yells, "Jane Jones! Come on down! You're the next contestant on the Scripture's Right!" Lights will flash and curvy models will display washing machines, refrigerators, and the crowd will go wild when they open the curtain on A NEW CAR!

And just somewhere in there, they might sneak in a sermon, a prayer, and a hymn. We've come a long way since Thursday night Bingo at the Catholic church!

"Offered in a spirit of giving?" The Dallas Morning News; August 28, 2008, p. 9A.